


Smith's Private Investigation Agency

by Chibi_Mathilda



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Collage, Detectives, Explicit Language, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Police
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-03-20 10:05:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3646179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chibi_Mathilda/pseuds/Chibi_Mathilda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren and his best friend Armin just found the perfect apartment to live! Too bad it's above the most dangerous detectives agency in the city. They just want to survive collage and yet here they are getting dragged in dangerous situation, solving crimes, ... What will happen to them when they start falling in love with the detectives?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> Thank you for clicking on this story and I hope that you will enjoy reading :)  
> Please keep in mind that English is not my first language and that the story in not beta'd ^^" You are free to point out mistakes but please do so in a kind way (e.g. don't insult me please...)

When Eren and Armin first came across the advertisement in the papers they had been ecstatic A two bedroom apartment for hire in the heart of New York that would only cost them 300 dollars a month? It sounded too good to be true… And apparently it was! When Armin called for extra information about the ad, he learned that the low price was because the apartment was situated above the most (in)famous detective agency ‘Smith P.I’.

The agency consisted of two detectives who had worked for the New York Police Department before they had been fired because of their rather unconventional methods. Erwin Smith started the bureau a few months later and within weeks he had hired his former partner, Levi Ackerman. They were the best P.I.’s in town who had a 90% success rate in solving their cases. BUT…! Because they were so good in what they did, they often stepped on some sore toes. And sometimes the people who were slighted by them decided to get payback by hiring some gangsters to ‘remodel’ the place. And sometimes the apartment above the bureau got ‘remodeled’ as well. Since nobody wanted to be collateral damage they had to rent the place that cheap.

This revelation left the two youngsters quite unsure with what to do. They were faced with a dilemma about money versus safety. They were after all two college students who worked part-time jobs and therefore rather tight on money. After some previous problems they refused to live in a dorm on campus anymore and wanted a cheap apartment in the city that wasn’t too far from either college and their part-time jobs. On the other hand they did not want to get caught in any crossfire about business that had nothing to do with them. They have had enough problems in the past to last them a lifetime. Why would they want to add some more?

In the end Eren’s adopted sister made the choice for them. Mikasa – whose last name was also Ackerman much to Eren’s amusement – reasoned with the boys for a long time before finally deciding. In the end the reasoning behind her decision was: “I’d rather see your apartment and personal stuff destroyed than you being raped in some ghetto neighborhood. Stuff can be bought again, your personal safety is more important to me.” Off course her reasoning had some flaws… It wasn’t because they had a tight budget that they had to go and live in a ghetto. And not everybody living in a ghetto was bound to get raped. Besides they were bought men! But to make Mikasa happy they made an appointment with Mr. Smith so they could view the apartment before deciding what to do.

XOXOX

When they got out of the bus they first thing they noticed was the four-floor high building in front of them. It was a normal looking building that seemed to have a garage that seemed to have been entirely made up of the ground floor. A nice detail if they had owned a car… Anyway the front of the ground floor had a small door which was probably the front door with next to that the garage door. On said garage door it said in fancy letters: ‘First Floor: Smith P.I.’

“Well at least it is close to the public transportation system.” Armin joked. Or at least tried to. The blond was so incredible nervous about what they might find that his voice came out in a high-pitched squeak. Of course his brunet friend was the opposite and had a tendency to run into things head first. It often led to Mikasa and Armin wondering if Eren even had a brain to think with… And if he ever used it. So while Armin was nearly peeing his pants with nerves, Eren was curios and chipper and had absolutely no problems in pulling his friend with him to the front door. After ringing the doorbell and stating that they came for the empty apartment, they were buzzed in with the instructions to come to the first floor.

Once they got to the right floor, they were greeted by a tall guy with blond hair in an undercut and clear blue eyes. While he looked and acted friendly enough his expression was somewhat guarded. “Good afternoon gentlemen. My name is Erwin Smith, founder of the P.I. bureau and owner of this entire building. And who knows maybe your soon-to-be new landlord.” This time the smile he showed them was real. The dazzling smile was so contagious that the two youngster found themselves smiling as well. Despite the nerves (at least in Armin’s case).

The man shook both their hands and continued to explain some facts about the building. The man might not have been aware of it but he almost sounded like a sale person trying to sell the latest car to some reluctant buyer. “On the ground floor we have a huge garage that can house up to four cars and six bicycles. So feel free to use the garage whenever you need too. On the first floor we have our office. Levi and me would prefer it if you don’t come inside unless you absolutely need us for something. That way we can ensure our costumers their privacy as best as we can. “ Eren and Armin nodded to show that they understood and for the older man to continue. “On the second floor we have your apartment and above that is mine and Levi’s apartment. We took the highest because my partner is quite peculiar about the view from his bedroom window.” The man laughed heartily, almost as if he recalled a funny memory. “Do you guys have any questions so far?”

Both teens shook their heads and followed the taller blond up the stairs and into the apartment for hire. When opening the door they were greeted by a small hallways that had 2 doors and some paintings on the wall. “The door on your right is the build-in closet were you can hang your coats and were you can find a shoe-rack to leave your footwear on. Behind the door on the left is a small water closet.” At the end, the hallway lead into a generously sized living room with a dining table for four persons, two sofa’s and a large T.V.. To the left was an opening in the wall that lead to a small kitchen and in front of them was another small hallway.

In that hallway were another four doors, two on each side. The ones on the right side were the doors leading to the ‘small’ bedrooms. Well I say small but they were large enough for the boys since they could easily fit a bed, a closet and a desk. They were bigger than the shared bedrooms at the college dorms so the youngsters weren’t about to complain about the size.

The first room on the left side of the hallway was that of a bathroom big enough to house the both of them at the same time. It had a bath with a showerhead hanging over, two sinks and again a toilet. The last door in the hallway belonged to a small utility room no bigger than a closet. In here they could find a washing machine, a dryer and some cleaning supplies. Lots and lots of cleaning supplies. All in all it looked like a wonderful place for them to live in.

“As said before I charge 300 dollar a month with an extra of 50 dollar for water and electricity. The 300 dollar does include insurance. So what do you guys think? Euhm is something the matter?” Erwin asked as soon as he saw the confused looks on the other two their faces.

“What exactly do you mean by insurance?” Eren asked.

“Well we do run an P.I. agency here so sometimes people get upset over the outcome of a case and they try to take revenge by destroying stuff in our office. But in the unlikely case that any of your stuff gets broken as well, we have an insurance to cover for it."

Eren and Armin looked each other straight in the eyes and had silent conversation passing between them. Sure there was some sort of risk involved living above a P.I. bureau but it was a really nice apartment that had just the perfect size for them and the rent was really, really cheap. A quick nod between the two best friends and then the blond stuck out his hand for the older blond to shake. “We’ll take it!” Erwin smiled and shook the hand offered to him to seal the deal.

XOXOX

Exactly two weeks later the both of them had moved their last stuff into their newly acquired apartment. Within a few days a new year of school would start and later that day, the brunet had to go to work. But for now Eren laid on his bed and unconsciously took a trip down memory lane. He had lost his mom at the early age of 11 and maybe at that time he had also lost his dad. His father was still alive today but after the death of his wife he had buried himself in work and barely came home anymore. He never physically laid a hand on his son but the unintentional neglect took quite a toll on the boy’s mental health. Eren started to become brash and often sought out fights just so he could deal with his anger. His sister – adopted into the family at age 7 – tried to stop him but it just got worse and worse the older he became. Until that one time Grisha had been called to school to talk about his behavior. The two of them had gotten in such a big fight and both parties said things to each other that they didn’t mean yet hurt so much.

At age 16 Eren finally ran away from home and started living with his best friend Armin and the boy’s grandfather. What they thought would become a legal battle over custody over the brunet turned out to be the simplest case ever. On the day the court assembled his father didn’t show up because he was too busy at work and couldn’t care less about his son. The judges then declared that Armin’s grandfather was to became Eren’s new legal guardian. Mikasa stayed behind with Grisha because he still talked to her. Maybe because she didn’t look like Carla at all? It didn’t matter for Eren… He still cared deeply about his dad even if they weren’t on speaking terms with each other at the moment. Mikasa didn’t mind and she often informed the brunet about his father’s health and what not.

At age 18 tragedy stroke again in Eren’s life. After catching a complex long infection, Armin’s grandfather died, leaving the two boys on their own. The doctors – including Grisha – did everything they could but in the end death’s cluthes proved to be to strong. The teens moved into the college dorms after that and got part-time jobs to support themselves a bit. The blond worked in the library and the brunet was a waiter at a small café downtown. They could handle the part-time jobs and their studies but the dorm life sucked. They were unable to share a room, the other kids on their floor were rowdy and more interested in getting wasted/laid/drugged up than studying, and their roommates weren’t all that great either. The small, feminine looking blond was paired together with a porn-loving pervert while Eren’s roommate could only be described as a complete asshole. By now you can probably understand why they wanted to move out and live on their own.

“Hey Eren I think you should leave now if you want to get to work on time.” Armin’s soft voice pulled the other teen out of his trip down memory lane and he smiled up at his friend. Saying he would leave in a few minutes. After all he still had to get changed out of his moving clothes.

Luckily for Eren his new apartment was only a short walk away from his part-time job. Being a waiter often worked on his nerves but he got payed well enough and his work hours weren’t so bad either. But his boss… When it neared 10 O’ Clock and only a few costumers remained the man would often feel the boy up behind the bar. With his short temper, Eren’s first reaction was to punch the man a black eye for toughing his butt. But he needed the money his job provided. So much so that he even refused to tell Mikasa and Armin what was going on! Armin would try and convince him to get another job and maybe even file a complaint at the police stations while Mikasa… Let’s just say that the man’s body would probably never be found.

Time at work flew by and soon enough it neared closing time. So late in the evening there was only one costumer remaining, a guy with jet black hair styled In an undercut and with steely grey eyes. It was the first time the man had visited the café – Eren made it a habit to know all the regulars by name – and so far he had only ordered one coffee while reading through some files. From his position behind the counter, the 19 year old willed the man to stay just a bit longer. After all his boss was hesitant about groping him if there were potential eye-witnesses around. The regulars were kind of used to it by now, they even laughed with it! But you never know how other people might view it…

At precisely 21.55 hours the costumer took his files, laid money on the table and left the small café, much to the brunet’s horror. It did not help his nerves that his boss rushed forward and flipped the sign, signaling that they were closed. “So Yeager you and me need to have a little conversation about your work here. Please meet me in the office when you’re done cleaning up.” Eren had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach while he cleaned the table and put the chairs on top. The feeling intensified while walking to the manager’s office.

As soon as he stepped inside, his boss pointed towards a chair and Eren sat down. A glass of water was offered to him and he gratefully accepted it. Just so that he had something to do with his hands… Cautiously he took a sip and pulled a face directly afterwards. The water tasted kind of funny…

“So Yeager the reason I called you here was to talk to you about your family situation. I need this information to complete your file.” Eren said nothing but he found it kind of add that such things would go inside someone’s file. But it was his first job and what did he know about regulations? “Who are your parents and what do they do for a living?”  
“My mom’s name was Carla but she died when I was 8 years ago. She was a housewife I think… My father is doctor Grisha Yeager, working for the E.R. department at the Trost Hospital. I also have an adoptive sister about my age named Mikasa. She’s of Asian descent.”

“My condolences.” His boss said in reply ,but Eren just shrugged his shoulders. He disliked talking about his mom, especially towards strangers. “How is the bond with your father? And your sister?”

Again the teen couldn’t help but wonder about the strangeness of these questions. But the longer he waited to reply, the longer he was stuck here. “My dad and me don’t really speak anymore. I often call my sister to ask how they are doing though.”

“So if you go missing there is no one who will immediately notice you missing?” Any alarm bells going off suddenly turned into blaring sirens at that question. He tried to get out of the chair and make a run for the door but the moment he stood up, his head started to spin and he felt faint. With a groan he fell back into the chair. “Thank God! For a moment I was honestly afraid the drug wouldn’t work on you.” His boss looked down on his with a strange look in his eyes. “Hey Edgar you can come out now. Feel free to examine the good you’re about to buy.” The man’s smile was so predatory that the teen felt truly afraid. Maybe even more afraid than ever before in his life.

Another man – Edgar he presumed – came to stand beside his boss. He looked kind of like a pig and Eren would have laughed at that if the situation hadn’t been so dire. Piggy came forward and grasped the boy’s cheeks in his hand. “My, my Alfred you’ve really outdone yourself this time. He’s so pretty! And look at those eyes! They look like emerald stones instead of just plain eyes. I’m sure he’ll fetch a nice price at the auction next week.”

‘Auction? About to buy? Bloody hell no!’ Green eyes widened even more when he realized that Piggy was a human trafficker and that he was his next victim. Seriously how does he get into shit like this every single time? Someone up there must really hate his guts. Edgar then took his out of the chair and laid him down on the floor. As he felt the cold seep through his shirt Eren truly began to realize the situation he was in. The drug paralyzed his body but his mind was still fully active and he was awake enough to see and hear everything that was going on without being able to do anything about it. It was truly terrifying for the teen.

“Say Alfred… Do you think he’s still a virgin?”

“Who knows… Only one way to find out Edgar.” They laughed like they just told the best joke ever and started to undress the poor boy. Hot tears burned behind his eyes but Eren didn’t know if he was crying out of fear, anger or frustration.

“Okay that is more than enough! Let go of the boy and raise your hands above your heads.” A woman yelled out as she stepped into the room with a gun trained on the two men. A light brown haired male was just behind her. He also had a gun trained on Alfred and Edgar.

“Who the fuck are you guys?” Neither Alfred nor Edgar did as they were told. They first looked at each other and then at the two newcomers with cold fury in their eyes.

“I’m Hanji Zoe, detective for the New York Police Department. Next to me is my partner Moblit Berner. And we’re placing you guys under arrest for drugging a minor and human trafficking.” The woman sounded oddly enthusiastic about it all. She was even smiling broadly at the two gangsters in front of her. Weird woman…

Unfortunately the two wouldn’t go down without a fight. Before anybody could react Edgar had pulled out a gun while Alfred pulled Eren up towards his body. The first then put the gun to the brunet’s head before speaking in a quiet but dangerous voice: “You’re trespassing so I suggest that you leave now before we shoot you. Or the kid… We can always sat that we acted in selves defense. Say that we thought you were burglars because you never identified yourself. And since you had no right to come inside nobody will question us.”

“You stupid idiots! Like anyone will believe a story like that after seeing this tape. Guess what you fuckers… You’re caught on camera. So smile!” Stepping out from the shadows was the costume from before only this time he had a video camera in his hands.

The two ‘idiots’ looked at each other and realized that the game was over for them. They dropped the gun and lifted their hands up in their air as they’ve been told to do. Hanji stepped forward with her partner to handcuff the two bastards while they mystery costumer walked towards Eren – after putting down the camera of course. “So kid if you can understand me blink once with your eyes.” The brunet did as he was told.

“Good. Now I’m going to ask some questions, blink once for yes and twice for no. Can you do that brat?” Even though he was annoyed at the nicknames he still did what the man wanted and blinked once. “Aside from being drugged, are you all right?” One blink. “Can you move anything at all?” Two blinks. “Do you want to go home?” One blink. “Or do you prefer the hospital?” Two blinks. Eren’s father worked at the E.R. and he really did not want to risk having to explain this to him, or heaven forbid his overprotective sister!

“Okay home it is. I’m going to help you up in a minute. I’ve already called a friend of mine who can take you home. Or to the hospital. He’ll also stay with you through the night to ensure everything is all right and then tomorrow morning Crazy and Silent will question you. Do you understand all of that?” Apart from the Crazy and Silent – which the boy figured where Hanji and Moblit – he was able to comprehend everything so again he blinked once.

“Clever brat.” The man allowed his lips to give a small twitch – probably his version of a smile/smirk – and went about helping the boy sit up straight. Easier said than done really! The brunet’s body felt like jelly and Eren kept falling backwards against the man’s chest. They finally were able to get the boy into a somewhat seated position when a familiar blond man walked into the office. “Al right Levi I’ve… Dear Heavens Eren are you al right!” His normal cool and collected composure lost, Erwin Smith was visibly shocked to see the young man there. Naturally Eren was as shocked as he was.

Next to the teen, the raven haired male – now identified as Levi – looked from the brunet to the blond before asking the very obvious question: “You know each other?”  
The P.I. cleared his throat and collected his composure before answering. “Starting this morning, he and his best friend Armin Arlert are our new tenants. Levi meet Eren Yeager student at the university and Eren meet Levi Ackerman my partner at the firm.”

Eren said nothing since he still couldn’t talk and Levi merely raised a brow. “Let’s keep the introductions for tomorrow and let this kid get some rest. You’re driving blondie.” And with that the three of them went home. All the way there Eren was almost afraid who Armin would react… Guess he’ll find out sooner than later!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter (where not much happens sorry ^^")

With the help Erwin, Levi was able to pick the kid up and walk him to their car. It was awkward to say the least… The blond was about a head taller than the raven-haired male which made the kid hang between them in a rather drunk fashion. If anybody would have seen them like this, they would probably come to the conclusion that they were two friends who were supporting their drunk friend home. All in all it was a miracle that they even made it to the car without falling over or dropping the poor kid. Once they managed to open the back door, they laid him down across the seat. Erwin decided to get in on the other side so he could support the brunet’s head and keep an eye on him should his body start reacting to the drugs. After all he had taken a first aid course when he was still in the force so he was the best person to keep watch.

While the blond did that, his shorter companion would drive them home. Even if he would never admit it, the raven-head was relieved that the kid lived in their apartment building. Today had been an extremely stressful and incredible long day which meant Levi would not have been up for a drive all across town. Hell he wasn’t even nice enough to do that if Erwin wasn’t with him! Hey… Nobody said that a private investigator had to be nice!

When they finally arrived home – it actually was only a 15 minute drive – it was the shorter male who offered to carry the brat upstairs.”Are you sure?” Erwin asked looking doubtful at his partner. After all he was doubtful that the other would be able to carry the (slightly) larger, unmoving body of the teen upstairs without any help. But then again, the man was pretty strong for his height. (Don’t ever let him hear that or he would kill you!)

“You go ahead and give him friends the heads-up, I rather not deal with a hysterical teenager, thank you very much.” Levi’s voice lowered and the blond was pretty sure that he was not meant to catch the next part: “Besides you have better people skills than me.” Of course being the nice friend that he was, Erwin ignored the last part and walked up two flights of stairs to break the news to Armin that his best friend had been drugged at worked.

It was way more difficult than getting the brat to his car, but in the end the detective managed to drag the kid upstairs and into his apartment. They were greeted by big blue eyes filled with concerned that belonged to a blond-haired kid about Eren’s age. It was pretty obvious that this was the brat’s best friend. His eyes widened even more when he saw the state his friend was in but he was smart enough not to say anything and just get out of the way so that Levi could pass him without any problems. Erwin pulled the brunet’s other arm around him and guided him to the first bedroom. It was then that the younger blond spoke: “you can just drop him on the bed, I’ll change his clothing later.”

The two P.I.’s did as asked and carefully positioned the boy on the bed. Green eyes locked with steel grey and Levi was surprised to see that the kid was still awake and coherent enough to understand what was going on. The brunet took one large gulp of breath before croaking out a barely audible thank you. The moment the words left his lips he promptly passed out. The shorter male eyes quickly darted to his companion who pressed two fingers to Eren’s neck. Checking his pulse seemed a bit unnecessary but Erwin would rather make sure that the kid was fine. He also held his hand a little ways from the kid’s mouth to check his breathing. “Everything seems fine. I guess exhaustion finally took over, after all he’s been through a lot this evening. We’ll let him sleep for now, he’s going to need it I’m afraid.” The last part of this statement was directed to the brat’s friend. What was his name again…? Allen? Armand? Ar-something?

“I understand. Can I just change him into his sleeping gear?” Armin asked timidly, almost afraid to look the older two males in the eye.

“Of course you can. We can even help you if you want? And while we do that, I can give you a rundown of what happened tonight?” The kid muttered his thanks and walked towards the closet in the room to retrieve some clothing for his friend. In the mean time Erwin started his explanation while Levi started undressing the brat. When he removed the teen’s t-shirt and saw Eren half-naked he could not help but stare at his chest. The black-haired male could understand why Alfred and Edgar wanted the boy… With his lightly tanned skin, enormous green eyes, boyish features, messy brown hair and the faint outlines of abs he was indeed very easy on the eyes. If the two had managed to get the brat auctioned off, they would have made a lot – and he really meant a lot! – of money because of him.

Levi was pulled out of his musing when Erwin pulled anther shirt over Eren’s head and when Armin went about changing the boy’s trousers he made himself look away. All in all he was glad when they were done and he could go upstairs to sleep. As he made himself comfortable in his bed he could not help but have this feeling that he would be seeing a lot more of the green-eyes boy in the future.

XOXOX

The following morning found a really grumpy Levi being woken up by the insistent ringing of the doorbell. The man wasn’t a morning person but getting awakened like this? Let’s just say that they raven-haired male was ready to kill someone. Preferably the idiot standing at the door at this early hour. Although he had a pretty good idea who it was.  
He heard Erwin moving around in the room next this his and decided that he would let the other deal with the embodiment of energy (Hanji) and turned around in bed to get a few more hours of much needed sleep. Last night had been pretty tiring for him. The kid might not have weighed a lot but carrying someone who was bigger than him wasn’t all that easy either. Luckily his friend had been level-headed. If he had to deal with an hysteric teenager that late at night he would have killed someone – probably Erwin for dragging him in this stupid P.I. bureau in the first place.

He’d just closed his eyes when his bedroom door slammed open and the crazy woman skipped inside. “Levi it’s 7 O’ Clock in the morning! Rise and shine baby!” The man felt his eyes twitch rather dangerously at the word ‘baby’ and had Moblit not dragged his partner away at that moment he would have shot her. It was way to early to deal with shit like this!

Reluctantly he left the confinements of his bed and left the room, a thundercloud hanging about his head. As soon as his eyes landed on one specific brunet his glare intensified and he finally snapped: “Call me baby one more time you fucking four-eyes and I’ll make you wish you were never born to begin with!” For once she was smart enough to keep her mouth shut. She might be bat-shit crazy but she had no desire to die just yet. Thank you very much! Especially not by the hands of a grumpy dwarf with a shitty mood. But don’t tell him that!

“Anyway we’re sorry to wake you up this early in the morning but we need mister Yeager’s statement before going in for work. And well… We figured that you would want to be present so that you could finish your own casefile.” Moblit explained in a way to calm Levi down.

It obviously worked since the other sighed and walked towards the bathroom. He reappeared fully clothed and refreshed about 10 minutes later. No-one said anything as the group walked downstairs. On the floor below them Erwin gently knocked on the door. It didn’t take long before a small blond with blue eyes opened it.

“Good morning mister Smith, what can I do for you?” The kid asked while his eyes looked at the four rather questionably. Levi could still remember this kid from last night. He was Armin Arlert, Eren’s housemate and best friend. While he looked like he wanted to break into hysterics last night, he had stayed calm and helped the shorter male greatly. Levi had then decided that the brat wasn’t so bad as other brats. He looked calmer than last night but it was obvious that he that he didn’t have much sleep last night, judging by the dark circles under his eyes.

“Good morning Armin, please call me Erwin from now on.” A smile was flashed at the kid who was blushing like some schoolgirl and the black-haired male resisted the urge to puke. “These policemen are here for Eren. Can we come in?”

“Ah yes of course, I’m sorry!” The smaller blond quickly stepped out of the way so that they could enter the apartment. In some silent agreement, all four of them sat down in the two sofa’s placed in the living room. The small blond walked into the bedroom to wake up his friend before coming back to them.

“Eren will be out shortly. Can I offer you something to drink while you wait?” He asked while looking at the floor shyly. Obviously he did not like being in the center of attention.

“Some tea for me please”. Erwin asked politely.

“Coffee!” Hanji shouted and quickly added “Please” when Levi shot her a look. He hated rude people…

“Water.” Moblit mumbled under his breath. He spoke so quietly that everybody had to strain to hear him.

“I’ll have some tea as well please. Thank you.” Levi grunted. Normally he didn’t drink anywhere else, or at least not until he knew how clean the cups were. But right now he would try to let go of his – slightly – OCD tendencies out of politeness. And if the cups were to dirty he would simply not drink from it.

Armin walked into the kitchen at the same time Eren walked into the living room. He looked better than last night the man thought. He also couldn’t help but think that the brat had some great legs on him. Now that he was wearing sleeping shorts, you could not really look past it. And Levi had looked away last night out of embarrassment. The brat yawned before taking a seat before the other four people.

“Good morning Eren, I’m detective Hanji. You remember me from last night?” When the brat nodded she continued. “I had some more questions to ask you, in order to complete our file. Do you mind answering them?” The kid shook his head but started wringing his hands. A clear sign that he was nervous and rather not be here right now. But he knew that he didn’t really have a chose. “During Alfred’s and Edgar’s questioning last night, they asked you if you had any family members keeping in though with you. You said no, could you elaborate on that please?”

“My father doesn’t really give a shit about me. After my mom died he buried himself in his work and since then I’ve barely seen him. Frankly I don’t think he knows he still has a son. My – adopted – sister still lives with him, so I’m kept up-to-date about his condition and health but other than that I know nothing about his life right now.” The brunet looked at the floor desperately trying to avoid looking anyone in the eyes.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Hanji answered but you could tell she really meant those words. “Let’s move on to the next question shall we? I’ve read your file last night and noticed that you got in a lot of fights when you were younger. However there was one part of your file that was censored. Can you tell me something about it?”

“NO! I refuse to tell you about that! If you want to know, go ask a judge for a warrant because this interview is over.” Eren stood up and was about to walk back to his room when he was intercepted by his housemate. Armin gently grasped his shoulders and started to rub them up and down in a soothing matter. Erwin glanced over at Levi and both were wondering the same thing right then: were these two an item?

“Eren I know you hate talking about it, but if they find out because of a warrant things will look a whole lot worse than when you tell them now. If you tell them now, you can give them a full explanation. So please, will you answer the lady’s question? If not for you, then for me?” Blue eyes locked with green and while the other three guys in the room tried not to snort at the fact that Hanji just got called a lady – which she was not! – Eren made a decision and sat back down in his chair.

“All right I’ll tell you what happened but you have to hear the whole story. Otherwise you’ll end up thinking of me in the wrong light.” His green eyes were practically begging them and Levi couldn’t not help but wonder what had happened to this boy in his past to make his this insecure. He mind ceased to function when the next words out of the brat’s mouth were: “When I was 8 years old I killed a man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's wasn't as good as the first chapter but I still hope you liked it :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off I would like to thank everyone who took their time to read this story and left me either comments or kudos. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it! ^^
> 
> Then about this chapter… Eren is out of character in this! I know it and I did so for a reason (which will be explained at the end of the chapter). You can hate me for it but please do read the explanation as it will make some of my views clear :p
> 
> Please enjoy reading!

“I killed a man when I was just 8 years old.” Green eyes burned with unshed tears and suddenly Eren felt ashamed to even look at the other people in the room. He quickly averted his eyes to look at the floor. If anything he rather not see the disgust and hatred in their eyes. It had taken him years to get over the traumatic events to lead him to meet his adopted sister Mikasa and to relieve them now made him want to curl up in bed an bawl his eyes out. It was only when he felt Armin place his hand on his shoulder that he snapped out of his thoughts and started telling his story.

“Before my dad started working as an emergency doctor in Trost Hospital he was a General Practitioner in Shingashina with the Ackerman family being his most visited patients. The mother was of Asian descent and incredibly beautiful but of very poor health. She often got sick with colds which made it impossible to for her to have a job that required her to go out every day so she worked from home as a seamstress. She worked 7 days a week, often working as much as 14 hours a day just so she could pay the rent at the end of the month. The father had been a police officer in the Shingashina force when one day he got shot in the back when he visited the bank on his day off. Since he got hurt while off duty, the force refused to pay his hospital bills and pension. He was paralyzed from the waist down so he had no way of working. It was low and selfish what the force did to him but what can you expect when knowing that most officers are corrupt? Their daughter was 1 year younger than me and had trouble making friends at school because of her mixed heritage.”

“One day my dad wanted me to go with him when he visited the family. I never was a social child but I did stand up against bullies and managed to befriend all sorts of social ‘outcasts’”. When he said the last word, Eren made quotation marks in the air with his fingers before glancing sideways at his best friend. Armin had been one of said outcasts when they first met. The blond had been driven into a corner by 3 large bullies who had wanted to steal his lunch money. Eren had fought with them to save the blond even though they didn’t know each other before. The brunet had gotten quite the beating but it had been worth it since they had become best friends after that.

“Like I was saying the mother was very pretty and her looks had gotten her the attention of the most dangerous gang leader around: George Wilkins. One day he made her an offer that she couldn’t refuse… Or more like that she wasn’t allowed to refuse. He’d pay her a 1000 dollar if she would sleep with him for just one night. Of course she refused! She would never betray her husband like that and no matter how bad they had it, she wouldn’t fall so low as to prostitute herself. However Wilkins wasn’t a man who took rejection kindly and he ordered to have the husband killed and her and her daughter brought to him. He would take her one way or another.”

“When we arrived the man had been lying dead on the floor and the woman had been barely alive. Apparently there had been a struggle and she had fallen down, hitting her head on the table. The thug left her to die and took Mikasa with him. When we found them, my dad immediately called an ambulance and the police while tending to the woman. He ordered me to go wait outside because he didn’t want me to see the dead person for too long.” At this point in time Eren stayed silent for a moment. He needed to gather his thoughts for the next part of his explanation. Armin must have sensed his difficulty because he began to knead his shoulder. The teen looked up at the blond’s reassuring smile and gave a shaking one in return. While doing this he missed the look shared between Erwin and Levi. Nor did they see Hanji raise her eyebrows. Eren gripped the hand on his shoulder and took a deep breath. Then he continued…

“Outside I saw droplets of blood on the ground. Till this day I still don’t know what exactly possessed me to do so… But I decided to follow them and see where they would lead me. At the end of the trail was a door of some run-down shack that looked like it could collapse at any minute. I went around back and entered through the back door which had been left open. It connected to a small kitchen. One of the drawers had been pulled out and was lying on the floor. The cutlery that had been in it was lying all across the floor. Thinking I might need something to defend myself with I picked up a knife and walked towards the other room.

It was getting harder and harder for Eren to relive this part of his part and it showed in the way he took shallow breaths, how he was unable to look anyone in the eye and in the way he was shaking. He started stuttering and the tears he had so stubbornly kept at bay were now freely running down his cheeks, yet he never even noticed.  
“Inside there was a small Asian girl about my age and a big man standing above her, ready to strike her. My feet moved on their own and before I realized what I had done, the knife was sticking out of the man’s lower back. He fell to the ground and u rushed forward to release the girl from her bonds.

“They were nearly off of her when the man stood back up and grabbed me by the neck. He simply pulled me away, punched me in the face and threw me away like some rag doll. Then… H-He sta-st-started chocking Mi…kas-sa!” He couldn’t take it anymore! Eren Yeager was not weak at all, he had a short fuse, often found himself in fights and he had been in the hospital more times than he wanted to remember thanks to him breaking various bones all throughout his body. Yet right now he wanted nothing more than to run away and locking himself in his room while crying his eyes out. Damn these policemen! Damn them to hell for making his relive all these painfull memories he tried so hard to forget about!

He took a few deep breath to calm himself down and tell the rest of the story without stuttering as much as he just did. “I couldn’t do anything but jump on his back and hit his head with my fists. Finally he let Mikasa go and turned his attention to me. He… He flung me away again and I landed on the ground right next to the knife I used earlier. The man then…” The boy’s breathing accelerated as he remembered the next part and he unconsciously touched his neck. “He grabbed me by the throat while sitting on top of me. I scrambled around for something to defend myself with and my fingers found the knife… So I plunged it forward.

“I guess I must have blacked out after that because the next moment I’m in the ambulance with Mikasa. The medic with us told me that I’d stabbed the man in the heart and instantly killed him.” Green eyes finally looked up at their visitors. “Do you understand now why I wanted to keep silent?” Eren’s voice was rising with every word. “I’M NOTHING MORE THAN A FUCKING MONSTER WHO KILLED A MAN WHEN HE WAS 8!”.

The other 4 were silent for a little while, letting everything sink in. It took a few seconds before any of them reacted but in the end it was Moblit who stood up and walked towards the two teens. He carefully took the brunet’s hands in his and looked him straight in the eyes. “You are NOT a monster Eren! In fact… You saved a girl’s life so that makes you a hero in my book. And before you say anything more… Yes you killed a man but only in self-defense. He would have killed you and … euh… Mikasa? Yes Mikasa without even so much as a blinking. So please Eren stop blaming yourself.”

It was the first time anyone had ever said something like that to him and it came like such an immense relief. In fact the boy was so surprised that all the years of guilt and self-loathing came out in one gigantic waterfall of tears. Snot was leaking out of his nose but Eren didn’t care as he let out a wail and buried his face in Moblit’s neck. “Besides brat we killed a lot more scum while being in the force. Do you think we are mass murderers because of that?” Levi asked and when the brunet mumbled out a no he asked a second question: “Then why would you think your case is any different? It was you or him so your survival instincts kicked in. Which is completely normal by the way.” By now the boy had stopped crying and a small, uncertain smile graced his lips.

“I just have one last question…” Hanji said in a sing-song voice that cause the 5 males in the room to groan. “Are you and the cute blonde a couple?” Both boys turned bright red at the question and and while the brunet started stuttering out a negative answer, Armin was quick to say: “Eww no!” The blond scrunched up his nose at the thought and Eren felt just slightly offended by the gesture.

“Well I didn’t mean to offend you but it just looks like the two of you have a very strong bond, so I naturally assumed you were more than good friends.” She sounded slightly apologetic.

This time it was Armin who looked at the floor with a sad look on his face. “I nearly lost Eren once so I’m just scared to lose him again.” The boy in question said nothing but looked the other way. He knew what the blond was referring to but… This time his friend knew nothing of what really happened.

‘You killed one of my man so it’s only natural I take your life’ The man grinned widely as he shoved the barely 9 year old boy in the chest. Eren – who had been standing precariously on the edge of the cliff – lost his balance and fell down. He remembered feeling a blinding pain all through his body and then nothing…

“Ever since they were rescued people looked at Eren with distrust as if he was a monster. They were also scarred that Wilkins would take out his anger on the town. So they began avoiding him, whispering behind his back and shunning him and his family…” Large blue eyes looked at him with sadness but the boy simply refused to meet them. “I guess you couldn’t take any of it anymore… That’s why you did it right?”

“Eren.” Erwin’s voice sounded commanding when he said his name. “What did you do?” But still the teen refused to answer. He didn’t do anything, but if he said something about it, then surely Wilkins would come after his family. It may have happened over 10 years ago but the Mafia never forgets… And they never forgives. And so Eren would continue to hold his mouth and pretend that what happened that day had nothing to do with Wilkins.

“Well he… Eren… He tried to kill himself. When he didn’t came home for dinner that day I went out looking for him. And… I found him lying at the bottom of the cliffs near his house.” When Armin had finally found him that man had already left and the boy had been barely alive. His heart stopped a grant total of 5 times on the way to the hospital and he had been in a coma for 2 months but in the end he had come through. His parents had adopted Mikasa in the mean time and the family moved away to Trost. They all accepted that Eren had tried to commit suicide never even once stopping to think that maybe he had been attacked. And Eren – to afraid that something would happen to his family – let them think that.

“I’m terribly sorry but I would like you all to leave now. I’m tired and would like to go back to bed.” He stood up and while planning to walk away his eyes met with steel grey ones. And he could read the message in them quite easily: ‘I know you’re lying brat and I’ll find out the truth.’ The brunet swallowed and looked away. For some reason he felt like his life just became a lot more difficult…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so the reason why Eren was a scared little kid and not the angry one from the anime:  
> In the anime/manga Eren has know hardship from his birth because of the titans rooming around and the unfairness of the system in the walls. It made him angry and uncaring about killing someone.
> 
> In my story Eren has grown up in a loving, caring family. And like any 8 year old he would get upset/scared at the thought that he has accidently killed someone. 
> 
> So I hope some people can understand this and won’t react badly to the OOC (like some people did on FanFiction -.-“)  
> Anyway I hoped that you liked this chapter and I’ll see you (hopefully) next time ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait people, real life has been catching up to me lately giving me less time to write and update my stories ^^"
> 
> Also a very BIG THANK YOU for every one that commented or left Kudos! I appreciate it very much :)

“Eren tried to kill himself.” There was just something about that statement that just didn’t sit well with Levi. He couldn’t really put his finger on it, but something was off and not knowing what, was frustrating him to no end. Unfortunately all his thinking lead to no solution, just a gigantic headache pulsating behind his closed eyelids. A heavy sigh escaped his lips – alerting his partner to his troubled state of mind – as he tried to make sense of the words displayed on the computer screen in front of him. Being the good partner that he was, Erwin just had to ask what was plaguing him.

“There is just something about the brat’s statement that doesn’t make sense.”

“You mean about Eren killing that man? Do you doubt that it was self-defense?”

“No of course not!” The raven-haired male snapped. “I have troubles with Armin’s part. I mean the kid is too much of a scared cat to lie to the police and defiantly not about something like that. But there was something wrong with the brat’s reaction to it.” Since Levi had grew up on the streets, he had developed the ability to instinctively tell whether someone was telling the truth or not. And while Erwin grew up in a perfect lovable home, he could read the human body like an open book. It was an ability that came quite in handy whenever he tried to manipulate someone in giving a full confession.

Brows furrowed in concentration (quite the sight to see in the blonds’ case) it took a while before Erwin spoke and even then his words were slow and deliberate as if thinking them over one last time before speaking them. “All throughout his explanation, Eren kept looking at the floor or his hands because he was too afraid – no, not afraid – too ashamed to look us in the eyes. Yet when Armin told us about the attempted suicide, he looked away… Like he wanted nowhere to be near the other because he knew that a lie was being told? You’re right! There is more to that suicide story than that Eren wants people to know.”

Levi looked his partner straight in the eyes so that the other knew he was dead-serious when he asked the following question. “Are we going to confront him about it?” The raven-head had a really good idea about what happened back then. “The brat had killed off one of Wilkin’s men and everyone knows that he’s one hell of a vindictive bastard…” He didn’t continue with his sentence but he was thinking something along the lines of George Wilkins taking revenge on a certain 9 year old by throwing him off a cliff.  
Like always Erwin was quite quick to catch on to the other male’s thoughts. “But Eren survived against all odds… Maybe he threatened the boy’s family? It would explain Eren’s reluctance to talk. Or… Well I might just come out and say it… Eren is the son of Grisha Yeager.” Narrow eyes widened when the shorter male heard that bit of information. I’ve always wondered why Wilkins would go after the son of his most trusted doctor. Unless…”

“Unless Grisha joined his gang to keep Eren save after the failed attack on his life!” Levi finished for the blond and Erwin nodded to show that that was exactly what he was thinking as well. “Grisha joined the gang in 2006, a year after Eren’s supposedly suicide. It would make sense…”

“But does Eren knows that his dad is part of the same gang that tried to kill him?” Blue eyes were serious while the blond was thinking over his own question. “It might also be that Grisha made that deal behind his family’s back and that Eren is keeping his mouth shut because he is afraid that Wilkins might go after his family… Maybe, just maybe that boy is the key we need to finally bring Wilkins to justice!” Erwin was completely serious when he said that and it caused shivers to run down Levi’s back. His partner and friend could be a formidable foe when challenged and not one who gave up without a fight.

At least not when it came to George – fucking – Wilkins! That man and his gang had been suspects in a high number of their cases when they still worked in the Major Crimes Unit and each and every time they walked out the door because the evidence disappeared or witnesses who quickly changed their statements. It was frustrating! In the end the both of them had gotten themselves fired just so that they could go after that bastard and his little crew of assholes in a less legal manner. So far they hadn’t found any conclusive evidence yet and they were forced to take on other cases as well.

“Are you really seriously considering using a brat as bait?” Levi asked while sweat dropping. He had seen Hanji in obsessive moods before but they paled when it came to Erwin. It was almost scary to see…

“Of course not! What kind of asshole do you take me for?” The larger male looked nearly insulted. “I was actually going to bring the kid on board of our little agency. Before the signed the rent-contract I did a little back-ground check on them with the help of Petra. That’s when I noticed that Eren studies Criminology at collage. Now we might be getting a little bit understaffed so we could use someone who could help us out with filling the paperwork. This way, we have another extra set of hands while we can keep an eye on the boy and he profits as well. Not only does he have a part-time job once again, he can also get some experience in real life.”

By that time the shorter male felt like banging his head on his desk. Was Erwin really being serious, because he refused to babysit the brat just because he could lead them to Wilkins. And then he thought of something else: everywhere the brat went, his blond friend followed… “Please tell me that you don’t plan to invite that blondie as well.”  
“Off course not!” For once Erwin actually looked scandalized. “He’s studies literature and has been bullied for most of his school life. He usually let people hit him because he didn’t want to fight back. Eventually Eren had to bail him out, time after time again. So no… I’m not going to put someone like him in such a dangerous postion.”

“But you are willing to put Eren in it?” An eyebrow rose as Levi couln’t help but think that his partner might have a soft spot for the smaller blond.

“It’s different with him. He’s a fighter… fast on his feet, and he used to get arrested for getting into fights. I’m more than convinced that he can take quite care of himself. Besides you should have seen him talk about his passions, the fire in his eyes is something I haven’t seen in a long time. Yes, he’s quite special if you ask me. And besides you care about the brat, don’t bother denying it. I think that you don’t mind babysitting him as much as you think you do. You – my friend – are absolutely fascinated by Eren.”

“I’m not!” The black-haired male shouted but even as he said those words he realized that they weren’t so true as he like himself to believe. Seriously of all the people to get interested in, it just had to been a teenage brat with a past and anger issues. “Shit.” This time Erwin didn’t reply but the grin on his face said enough. “Just go get the brat so when can get everything over.” If Levi had been sporting a headache before, now it had grown into a pounding mess trying to split his end in two.

“You’ll thank me later. Please don’t kill yourself while I’m away.” The blonde’s hearty laugh could be heard even as the door closes and he walked up the stairs. The black-haired male stayed behind contemplating ways to kill his partner without anything tracing back to him. His thoughts were interrupted by the shrill sound of the telephone ringing.  
“Smith’s Private Investigations bureau, Levi Ackerman speaking. How can I help you?”

“Hello mister Ackerman, this is Nicole Harrigan. This morning one of my paintings got stolen this morning and I would like to hire some detectives to bring it back to me.”  
‘A stolen painting…Seriously?’ Levi thought as he rolled his eyes. Couldn’t it be something more exiting? “Have you contacted the police yet miss? Because theft is something that should always be reported to them.”

“It’s mrs. actually. And no, I haven’t contacted them yet. In fact, I don’t plan on it. It’s a painting that probably isn’t worth a penny and it’s has more a personal significance for me than anything else. That’s why I want detectives and not policemen. Those pigs never learned the meaning of subtlety.” The woman on the other end of the line scoffed and the short male had to suppress a snort of his own. Did this bitch expect him to be subtle? And apparently she never heard of the fact that the two detectives used to be part of those ‘pigs’ as well.

‘Grr stupid rich bitch…’ Levi couldn’t help but think. He hadn’t seen her but he already hated her. This was going to be an wonderful case (note sarcasm there). “Al right mrs Harrigan my partner and me will be over in about an hour. Can you give the address?”

He noted the address down on a piece of paper and just as he hung up, his partner and the brat walked in. “Get ready people, we have a case.” He took the scrap of paper and his keys before leaving the office, expecting the others to follow his lead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So not much happened this chapter but things will be picking up speed in the next one ;) I've also ran out of pre-written chapters so the next update may take a while longer to appear ^^"


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!
> 
> Sorry for the long wait ^^" I've been really busy lately with work, cosplay and conventions and I barely had any time to write my stories :s That and my head has been filled with other AoT stories that were begging for attention xD But before I start writing any of them I'm going to try and finish this one first ;)

Eren Yeager had the worst day of his life. But really was it any surprise after the morning he had? I mean… Come on! He moved from Shinganshima to Trost in order to avoid people finding out about the fact that he had accidently killed someone. And now he had not only been questioned by the police about it, their landlords had also been present when he had been forced to tell his horrible past! The brunet seriously wanted to crawl in a hole somewhere and die. (Yes… Eren had quite the flare for dramatics when he was in a pissed off mood!)

Of course his best friend Armin was there to console him on the matter. After all the blond was quite used to the other’s antics and he knew that his friend wouldn’t be judged over something that was done in self-defense. So he just sat next to the little spitfire and listened patiently while his friend blew off some much needed steam. It took a few hours but finally the older teen had calmed down enough, even to the point of falling asleep on the blond’s lap.

He slept peacefully – even dreaming about his childhood with Armin and Mikasa – when he was awakened by the shrill sound of his doorbell. He groggily dragged himself to the front door while Armin used the opportunity to sneak to his bedroom and try to study some more before the start of the new school year. When the teen opened the door he was more than surprised to find his blond-haired landlord standing there. While most people said that the teen had anger issues and was quite rash in his decision making, now he felt the fear creeping up on him. Surely no man wanted to rent his apartment to a young killer, so mister Smith had to be there to kick them out.

His fear must have showed on his face because the next thing his landlord said was: “Please relax Yeager, I’m not going to kick you out. Actually I’m here to discuss a business proposal with you. We – Levi and me that is – know that you are a criminology student and we want to invite you to work as our assistant.”

For once in his life Eren had absolutely no idea what to say. Here he was thinking that he would get kicked out and instead he gets offered a job! After last night – the memory still made his want to vomit – he was kind of unemployed so it would be a most welcome gift. But there was one thing bothering him: “How do you know what I study at collage?”

The older man had smiled broadly as he answered. “Because we ran a back-ground check on you two off course.”

“What?!” Eren yelled feeling slightly scandalized at the thought of his privacy being invaded like that. “Is that even legal?” The confession had put him in a slightly bad mood. It reminded him of this morning… Wait! “If you ran a back-ground check on me, how come you didn’t know about my sealed past?” ‘Cause that would have come up right? And then they would have already know about the murder! But no… Given their genuine looking reaction this morning that seemed very unlikely.

“We’re private detectives Eren so we kind of are allowed to run someone’s name through the system. Especially when we have connections within the police force.” The man laughed and it must have been slightly contagious because it managed to make the brunet’s lips quirk upwards just a tiny bit. “Although I don’t know why Petra would neglect to mention your sealed past to us. Normally she’s very thourough.” 

“Petra…?” Eren whispered the name as if to taste it. So that was their connection within the force. He wondered what kind of woman she was. For some reason he pictured himself an older lady with graying hair in a bun and round glasses perched on her nose. You know… the doting grandmother kind. “Anyway… you talked about offering me a job as your assistant. What would I do exactly?” By now he had unconsciously let himself fall against the doorframe so that he was practically draped over the thing.

“Well for the most part we want you to take notes during our cases about things we point out and when we get back to the office we expect you to type them out on the computer into neat report. Normally our cases aren’t that dangerous but should we get the feeling that things might get ugly we will make sure that you are someplace safe. Other than that you will be asked to keep in contact with our former colleagues at the precinct whenever we need information we can’t get our hands on. Is everything clear so far?” Eren nodded – maybe a bit too eagerly – because Erwin was smirking now. “Well then… Get your things Yeager, I’m sure there will be a case for us pretty soon.”

“Yes sir!” If somebody were to ask him about it later, Eren would venomously deny having saluted his landlord right there and then, but the truth was that he did. Yet he was so excited that he didn’t noticed himself doing it. Hell…! He didn’t even notice Erwin bursting out in laughter because he was so excited as he ran back inside to get his shoes and jacket and told Armin where he was going.

In less than a minute he was back out in the hallway following his new boss down towards their office. The blond hadn’t even completely opened the door when Levi turned around to look at them. “Get your stuff, we have a case.”

XoXoX

The ride over was spent mostly in silence. Levi was behind the wheel, Erwin was reading over the notes the other had presented him and Eren was trying hard not to wriggle all over the back-seat in his excitement (and obviously failing miserably). Maybe the black-haired detective decided that he had enough because at that moment he spoke to the brunet. “Hey brat! Before we go in I want to lay down some rules. First off, you don’t talk to the clients, that’s Erwin’s job. Second you will follow my every move and not touch anything unless I give you permission. Third: I hate stupid people who can’t think for themselves so if you notice something that might be off importance – no matter how small of insignificant it might seem – tell me. Other than that, the rest of the rules will be brought up at the appropriated times.”

If the boy had thought Erwin was commanding, he now realized how much he was mistaken. Levi hadn’t so much as raised his voice but his commanding way of speaking demanded respect and it made Eren gulp. There was something about that man that just made him ooze out this dominating feeling. Normally the brunet had a problem with authority but with this man… With this man it weirdly didn’t bother him as much.

The rest of the ride over was spent in silence until they reached a big – and by that Eren meant gigantic – mansion on the outskirts of Trost with a big iron gate, a hedge surrounding the place and a drive-lane so long he couldn’t even see the house behind it. When they reached the gate a sophisticated voice ran out: “What can I do for you?” 

“Detectives Ackerman and Smith. The lady of the house called us about an hour ago.” Levi replied sounding bored and uninterested.

It was silent on the other end for about half and minute. And then…: “We’ve been expecting you gentlemen.” With that the gate swung open and they were allowed inside. The house was beyond anything Eren could have ever imagined and he was almost afraid to step inside, fearing that he might break something or dirty the floor with his shoes. Just from standing in the hallway he could see that the place was cleaned beyond perfection and he wondered what kind of people owned such a place… And why they would need a private investigator in the first place. They were probably rich enough to buy a whole police station if they wanted! Levi threw him a look and he quietly walked inside after Erwin, ready to tackle his first case as a detective’s assistant!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small note to say that I hate the ending but I got stuck with the writing, so that's why it ended so weird -.-" Please forgive me and feel free to tell me your thoughts on this chapter or how I can improve my writing! :)


	6. Chapter 6

The ride over was mostly quiet since Levi was concentrating on the road and Erwin was reading over some notes while occasionally nodding to himself. While the silence was comforting on one hand, it also managed to drive Eren crazy. He was nervous for his first case and he didn’t really know how he should or could act around clients. Sure he had the theory, but real-life was always very different. So he began fidgeting until the black-haired detective glared at him through the mirror which made Eren freeze in his place. That guy was one scary dude…

But even as Levi seemed to hate everything pertaining to sound (or anything in general actually), his blond companion did not. So the brunet was immensely grateful when Erwin started talking to diffuse some of his nerves. “Once inside, you will be paired with mr. Grumpy to look around for clues and other things that might seem out of place. He will not say anything, but you will give your impressions, that way we can see if you got some insights in crime scenes. I mostly do all of the talking so you do not have to say anything if you do not want, but if you do speak up, please be polite.” The smile thrown his way promised a painful death if he upset the client. Screw his first thought! Erwin was just as creepy as Levi!

Gulping, Eren started nodding his heads like crazy. He could keep his mouth shut, as long as he wasn’t provoked (which happened on a really regular base…). He could do this! He could prove that he would be an excellent detective in his adult life, no matter what any Horseface may say…!  
While he was mentally encouraging himself, they had arrived at the client’s house. Well… house was probably the understatement of the year. It was more like some freaking castle if you asked him. It was as big as 4 houses put together, it had little towers on the roof, about a million windows and probably some ghosts… The lawn was big and well kept (he could easily imagine an army of gardeners taking care of these lands). Trees were perfectly lined in two parallel lines on either side of the drive way and a few statues could be seen here and there. And like you can probably imagine all this was fenced with large iron gates. A modern – and slightly out of place looking camera – recorded their approach and the moment the short male rolled his window down, a metallic voice spoke to them.

“Good afternoon, how can we be of assistance?” The man sounded absolutely bored, like he wanted to be anywhere in the world but there. Which was probably the truth, Eren realized.

“We are private investigators Erwin Smith and Levi Ackerman, miss Harrigan invited us over.” If the man on the other end sounded bored, then so did Levi. And here Erwin was saying that he should use tact while the black haired male was more likely to offend someone!

“We’ve been expecting you sirs.” The teen couldn’t help but snort at the old-fashioned way of speaking. And judging by the raised eyebrow of mr. Smith, the man was equally surprised. The house and the old fashioned butler made the brunet wonder what kind of person miss Harrigan was. Maybe some really old tart with grey hair and a face to filled with botox that she looked like a weird doll. She was probably in her nineties, with false teeth and a hearing aid. A woman with lost glory that wouldn’t acknowledge it and desperately hung to the old ways. The brunet grinned, this would be a fun case!

XOXOX

Miss Harrigan was nothing like he had imagined her to be. She was young – although much of her youngness was probably thanks to extensive plastical surgery – with perfect features and fake everything… Her blonde hair was obviously dyed, the length reaching mid-back thanks to expensive extensions. Her blue eyes were the kind of blue that could only by achieved with contact lenses. Her daintily nose was a little bit too straight, and her face looked too much like a doll to be natural. Her lips were plump – defiantly botox – and her tan – much like Eren’s own skin colour – was no doubt from a private solarium. And her voice was a little too high pitched. If the student were asked to describe her in one word, it would be: FAKE!

“Good day gentlemen and thank you so much to drop everything and come to my rescue.” Eren mentally added theatrics to the long list of reasons why he didn’t like her. “You must be Erwin Smith.” She said as she locked eyes with their ‘spokesman’. “I must say, that you look much more handsome in real life then in the newspapers.” She giggled and both Levi and Eren had to stop themselves from vomiting. Was this chick really trying to seduce Captain America?

The man himself had a perfect poker face making it impossible to determine what was going through his mind at that moment. He replied with a professional sounding “Thank you.” But otherwise refrained from commenting. Even if the words sounded just a tad bit strained.

Miss Harrigan’s attention was then drawn towards the black-haired male. “Mister Ackerman!” She grabbed his hand and nearly pushed her well-endowed breasts – no doubt fake as well – against his face. “I must say that you have the most sexy telephone voice I’ve ever heard.” Now Eren just couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Is this woman seriously flirting with everything that has something hanging between their legs? How desperate can someone be?

At least that was until she laid her eyes on him. Her smile vanished and in its wake a sneer appeared. “And what do we have here…?” Of course he could partially understand the situation. Where Erwin and Levi were handsome men in suits and a professional air around them, Eren was a teenage brat, with unruly hair and a lousy fashion sense. He had left the office wearing his tattered jeans, way-to-big t-shirt and oversized cardigan. The barely hanging together sneakers just finished his poor-college look. But in his defense, he hadn’t been planning on leaving the apartment that day and when the blond had come knocking he hadn’t thought about changing his attire into something more appropriate.  
Still none of that warranted the disgusted look on her face.

Luckily his new blond boss decided to intervene before the brunet lost control of his temper – which was very likely to happen in this situation. “Miss Harrigan allow me to introduce you to our new part-time assistant, Eren Yeager. He’s a criminology student at Trost university. You do not mind him being here, right…?” The smile sent her way would make any woman weak in the knees – hell even the brunet was feeling the effects! –but it served its purpose. 

Their host smiled again and quickly said: “Of course not mister Smith! I’m delighted to have him here.” Eren couldn’t help but snort at that which earned him a glare from her and a quick jab in the ribs from Levi. “But it’s mrs Harrigan actually. My husband will be home within the hour, so you’ll meet him very soon. Would you like to see our vault for now?”

Green eyes widened at that, she was married! Good Lord what kind of man could stand being married to something like that?! Next to him the other’s looked just as surprised but the managed to cover it up more quickly than him. “I’m sorry mrs Harrigan, we did not know. And while the vault sound interesting to look at I am afraid that we still do not know what this is all about. You said something about a stolen painting?”

She gasped and one prefect manicured hand flew to cover her mouth. “I’m so sorry gentlemen, I’ve been so caught off guard by your appearances that I completely forgot the manner at hand.” Que eye rolling curtesy of both Levi and Eren. Erwin’s smile was looking more strained by the minute but otherwise he showed no signs of irritation. That man had such an amazing pokerface! But back to their client, she was currently looking sad, and whining about how she was such a bad host. It made Eren lose his patience… Quickly!  
“Mrs Harrigan, your painting…” The words sounded friendly but with a reprimanding undertone. She was clearly caught off guard by it, and for just a second, her perfect façade dropped and exposed the vicious looking woman underneath. It gave the teen a shock and all of a sudden he realized that this actrice – for that is what she truly is – might have been playing them all along. For the first time since they entered the mansion, Eren wondered if there was more to this theft than they first thought. Only time would tell and right now he was very curious to hear the story behind it. He stood a little straighter and payed more attention to the blonde. A calculating look appeared in his eyes and he started looking beneath her exterior, looking for lies and half-truths. Next to him, the shorter male shot him an approving look, which he completely missed.

“You see it was a birthday gift from my husband.” Once again her voice was smooth and she played the perfect housewife again. “He’s the owner of an art gallery and quite the gifted painter himself. And well… I’ve always have had a thing about art, more specific the renascence and the old Flemish masters.” Now that was probably the first piece of truth that she spoke all afternoon. At that moment there was a fondness in her eyes that just couldn’t be faked and the criminology student made a mental note of it – it could come in handy at a later time. “But my true love will always be the Mona Lisa painted by the great master himself – Leonardo da Vinci. There is something about her knowing look and mysterious smile that captivates me whenever I see it. So my husband painted me in the same way as the Mona Lisa for my birthday last year. It’s probably not worth a dime but it holds great sentimental value for me, and that’s why I have it safely secured in my vault, yet, this morning it was gone. You need to find it! It’s important to me!” Now she was truly begging but there was something nagging at Eren.

The begging was genuine, she wanted that painting back no matter what… Yet the part of the Mona Lisa was a lie, of that the brunet was sure. Don’t ask him why… There was just something off about that explanation. So that left the question as to what was really stolen from this vault. His first case proved to be quite the entertaining mystery. The challenge presented left him smirking, but a quick jab to his ribs was enough to wipe it from his lips. The disapproving frown on Levi’s face reminded him that he still needed to be professional about all of this.

“We will do our upmost best mrs. Harrigan. Why don’t you walk me through the discovering of the theft? In the mean while my partners will take a look at the vault.” A quick nod was all they got and then they walked through the maze of unused chambers until they reached a modern looking staircase (which looked very out of place in the house). Continuing their way down, they were greeted by an state of the art vault made out of steel enforcements and doors as thick as the brunet himself. A panel besides the door was softly glowing green and their host placed her hand on it, before she entered the code on the touch-screen. If this woman was truly burgled like she claimed, it was done by a true professional because you needed a lot of brains and knowledge to get past the fingerprint scan.

“Excuse me mrs. Harrigan…” Eren started and ignored the glare she sent his way. “Would you mind telling us whose fingerprints are programmed into the safe? Except for yours off course. Although I presume your husband can enter as well?” She looked shocked at the question – like she had never expected him to ask something so clever – and he patted himself proudly on the back for it.

“Well except me and my husband, only James our butler.” That certainly narrowed down the pool of suspects… Bright green eyes clashed with fake blue and the boy could not help but wonder if this wasn’t all some elaborate ploy to get insurance money or something. But… then again he doubted the painting was insured since she said it wasn’t worth much – except emotional value off course.

The black haired male seemed to have read his mind for he quickly asked: “Did you or your husband had the painting appraised? Or maybe insured or something?” Steel grey eyes glanced his way, letting the teen know that the two of them were on the same wave-length. Friendly looking blue eyes also locked with his own and Eren could see the approval in them.

“We have an insurance policy for everything in here but truth be told, my husband takes care of such matters so I don’t really know the finer details behind it.” She sounded unsure of herself for the first time that day, and they realized that these were questions that made her uncertain because she clearly had not expected them to be so thorough in their field of work. Her bad..!

Eren licked his lips as he thought about this case. How interesting… He couldn’t wait to get to the bottom of this!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick update for once! xD
> 
> I decided to update quicker for once since I'll be going on a little hiatus until mid october ^^" Please don't worry, it's not because I've lost interest in this story or anything... But I'm on holiday + moving in with my boyfriend, so I don't have much time to write anything :( Once the move is completed I should be able to upload on a more regular base :)
> 
> Also I now have Tumblr! I'll use it to post some cosplay stuff but also for small teasers for upcoming chapters and new stories. So please check it out if you're interested :) Also ask me anything! ^^  
> You can find me at: http://chibi-mathilda.tumblr.com/

First impressions weren’t always right, Levi realized. When he first met Eren Yeager he had thought him to be a loud-mouthed brat with an anger issue and a magnet for attracting trouble. A pretty face more than brains who liked to brawl because he had a short fuse. He was wrong… Sure the kid was all of these things but he was smart, smarter than one gave him credit for. He saw through the façade of mrs. Harrigan and was obviously looking forward to the challenge that this case would no doubt bring him. He might not be the brightest crayon in the bunch but he had street smarts and a some degree of human psychology. Maybe working together with the brat wasn’t so bad as he had first feared.

And then the kid had opened his mouth and asked that question about the fingerprints… The black haired detective knew they had her cornered with that question, the woman realized that she had placed herself in a tight spot and damn if the brunet didn’t realize it as well. The smirk on his lips was almost predatory and gave him a wild, feral look. Levi had always wondered what those pigs from the diner had seen in him, but as he suddenly saw the brat in a new light, he could understand it just a little, tad bit – minus the whole we-are-going-to-sell-you-as-a-sex-slave-thing obviously. 

Right now Erwin was question both the butler and the lady of the house – Levi snorted since that woman was anything but ladylike- while the kid and him were looking around the vault. Those bright green eyes looked carefully and thoughtfully around taking everything possible in. Right now his eyes were firmly planted at the blanc space where there used to be a painting. Grey eyes followed the same path and immediately saw some inconsistency with the story. He wondered if the brat had figured it out as well, so he subtly questioned the boy – and yes… he could be subtle if he wanted to be! “What are you looking at brat?”

Those bright eyes glared at him for a few seconds before answering: “I was wondering what those wires were doing against the wall. It seems that they run straight to the back of the painting, but none of the other paintings have the same wiring. And I doubt that they are just for electricity.”

“Is that all you see?”

The questioning look send his way was enough of an answer for the black haired detective. Sure he was right about the weird wiring – they would have to ask that witch about it later – but that was not what he had meant. Sighing he asked his next question. “Eren, what do you know about the Mona Lisa?”

At first the kid looked surprised by the use of his name, a look that quickly turned sheepish. “Art has never been my strong point, I found it quite boring to be honest. I know that it hangs in the Louvre and that there is a film about its painter and some sort of code…”

Rolling his eyes, he decided to forgive the brat for this little slip-up. “The Mona Lisa is not only know because Dan Brown wrote about it you brat. And while her ‘mysterious’ smile is something a lot of people like about it. It is also a small painting, barely 77 cm on 53 cm. Or at least smaller than some of the other paintings of its time. Knowing that, what do you see now when staring at that blanc space?”

Again the calculating look appeared in those bright eyes – damn it if he didn’t find those eyes quite fascinating – as he studied the blanc wall again. He frowned as he slowly began connecting the dots that Levi had noticed earlier. “The shape is all wrong! That yellowish color on the wall suggest that the painting hanging there was small but long and with an oval top. But why would they lie about the painting if they wanted us to find it. Unless they got the proportions all wrong.” The kid pulled a face at that, clearly stating that he didn’t believe it himself. And it would indeed be weird: a gallery holder/amateur painter who didn’t know what the Mona Lisa looked like? A woman claiming how much she adored the original but wouldn’t be bother by the mistakes in the copy? It just didn’t add up…

“Then again they wouldn’t hire us to find a painting if they didn’t want anyone to know what it really looked like. It’s a strange case…” And it frustrated him! The short male might looked pretty bored all the time but he hated it when people lied to him. Unless they were suspects… Then he enjoyed slowly pulling the information he needed out of them – and yes he had a sadistic streak when dealing with low-lifes. “Let’s join Erwin upstairs and then we can ask our ‘host’ – he nearly spitted the word out – about the weird wiring in here.” He sharply turned on his heels and walked out, keeping a brisk pace all the while. He didn’t look back to see if Eren was following him, knowing that the young man was just a few paces behind him. As he climbed the stairs he could only hope that his blond partner had more look in finding things out.

XOXOX

The cold look in those blue eyes told the ex-detective all that he needed to know. While Erwin’s face remained charming enough to any onlookers, Levi had known his partner long enough to see the nearly unperceivable twitch in his left eye corner. The tall man was losing his patience… and fast! The fact that mrs Harrigan was all draped over his arm probably didn’t help much. Next to him he could feel Eren tensing – and while he couldn’t see the boy’s face – he could easily imagine the other rolling his eyes at the ‘lady of the house’.

He cleared his throat to gain there attention before elbowing the kid in the side. “If you don’t mind, our assistant had a question about the wiring in the vault.”

The kid looked surprised for a moment but when the bitch turned to glare at him, he swallowed, straightened his back and asked with a voice full of confidence: “We’ve noticed some brown wires coming down from the ceiling toward the back of the missing painting, yet none of the other paintings had these wires. Would you mind telling us what they are for?” A pleasant smile was sent her way and it caught her off guard for a moment. It caught Levi of guard for a moment as well – the fake politeness in the brat’s voice that is. His words were nearly dripping with sarcasm and that stupid woman didn’t even notice! The black-haired male smirked as he suddenly felt proud of their ‘assistant’.

“Those connect with pressure pads, so that when the painting gets lifted off the wall, the alarm will go off.”

“I see…” Oh they most defiantly saw through the lies now. Who in their right minds would go to extreme measures to protect a painting that isn’t worth a dime, while neglecting the other treasures in that vault? No-one! Which meant that mrs. Harrigan had been lying to them this entire time. They would play dumb off course but they would eventually find out the truth and when they did, Levi was sure he would either be arresting her or her husband – and Heaven knows he really hoped he could throw her ugly ass in jail!

“Mrs. Harrigan can I use the bathroom please?” The short detective wasn’t charming like Erwin, nor was he over the top polite like Eren, but she seemed to find his bluntness attractive anyway – or at least pretended to- because she smiled coyly at him while nodding her head.

“It’s on the first floor, 3 door on the right. Do you want James to lead to way?”

“I’m sure I can find it myself.” Without so much as glancing backwards he trudged up the stairs and into the indicated room. Of course he didn’t really have to use the bathroom – Heaven knows how unsanitary they could be! – but he had something entirely else in mind, to solve this case more quickly. He pulled on some disposable gloves – which he always had with him – and looked around for a brush or something. When he finally located the antique looking thing, he pulled a few of the blond strands from between the teeth and put them in a little plastic bag. He did the same for the little black hairs he found in the man’s razor. Later today he would drop them off at the police station and who knew…? Maybe the resulting DNA profiles would give them the clue they’ve been missing?

Putting the bags in his pocket, he pulled the toilet – to make it more believable – washed his hands and joined Eren and Erwin downstairs. They said their goodbyes to the lady of the house and then made their way outside. One they were all seated they let out one gigantic sigh. “That woman gave me a killer headache.” Levi grumbled. The brunet could only agree, while closing his eyes. If he could, he would fall asleep right there and then…

“Next stop: the station?” His blond partner asked rhetorically while starting the car and driving away from the weird mansion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you ask... Yes this chapter is slightly shorter than my previous onces ^^" It seemd like a good point to stop the story without dragging it out to much :)
> 
> Next chapter will be something special since it will be in Erwin's p.o.v. :D

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed the prologue :)
> 
> Some things I would like to point out:  
> 1) This story is also posted on Fanfiction and I'll try to add new chapters when I can but I'm a busy girl so don't be surprised if it takes a while to update ^^"  
> 2) The rating is M for a reason. Smut will happen in later chapters but I like some character development first so please be patient :D  
> 3) Some characters may be OOC but I really do my best to keep them as in character as possible. If not please notify me so that I can make corrections ;)  
> 6) Normally my chapters are around 2000 words so don’t expect such a long chapter in the near future xD


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